Weston: A New Look at the New World's First Documented Meteorite Fall

Monty Robson, McCarthy Observatory, USA

Just as dawn was breaking over southwestern New England on Monday December 14, 1807, a spectacular fireball exploded and shook houses in the author's hometown. Known as the Weston Meteorite, none of it fell in present day Weston, Connecticut. This was the first well observed and well documented meteorite fall in the America's and it happened just as we were learning that stones do fall from the heavens and they have an extraterrestrial origin. The colorful history of this fall will be presented as well as the author's research on mapping the meteorite's strewn field.

An Observatory Registry: A Proposed Exercise in Paying Attention

Sheldon Greaves, Ph.D.

This presentation is a proposal to form a registry of home-based nature observatories to encourage citizen scientists, both young and old, to learn and practice the art of observation and data collection. Enthusiasts would be given training in observing, measuring, keeping records, field note taking, data evaluation, etc., and be added to a registry of observers and home- or business-based observatories. The program would conduct large scale observation projects directed at both collecting useful data for scientific research and giving members of the registry a chance to participate in doing science on a larger scale.

This presentation will describe what the Registry is, how it will work, and what would be involved in establishing and running it.

Radio Science At Colorado's Table Mountain -
A Unique Amateur Experience

 Joseph DiVerdi, Ph.D.
Deep Space Exploration Society, Boulder, Colorado
 
There are rare moments in life when what can only be termed "a
singular opportunity" presents itself. Radio science at Colorado's
Table Mountain is one of those opportunities.

The Table Mountain Field Site (TMFS), located north of Boulder,
Colorado, is the principal experimental station for the US Department of Commerce's Boulder Laboratories. Setting atop the northern edge of the elevated, flat-topped butte are two 18.3 meter (60 foot) diameter parabolic dish antennas. These dishes were used for several decades by the laboratory's scientists and engineers to perform a wide range of experiments including of radio frequency (RF) propagation and tropospheric scattering measurements, as a down link station to collect telemetry from various space craft, and to study and design RF antenna structures. These fine, old dishes were "retired" some decades ago and lay dormant for a considerable period.

The Deep Space Exploration Society (DSES) is incorporated as a
non-profit organization in the State of Colorado and exists to foster
the exploration and understanding of space by preparing its members, students, and the general public to participate in that exploration. Some of the Society's founders grew up and played in the shadow of these dishes where some of their fathers (yes, in those days it was mostly fathers) worked. It is appealing to think that the dishes and the possibility of using them were inspiration for creation of the Society.

At this time the DSES operates these dishes at TMFS under a
Cooperative Research And Development Agreement (CRADA) with the National Telecomunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) authorized under the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986. The Society's principal challenge over the past decade or so has been to restore and update the dishes and associated facilities using solely volunteer effort and the very limited resources available to it.

This presentation will outline the very exciting work performed over
the past years at the TMFS by DSES personnel together with the current activities and plans, the scientific and engineering goals, and the educational and societal outreach programs centered around these breathtaking dishes.

Dirt Cheap Science On Computers

Mark Streitman

This presentation will have two parts. Part one will show how you can do science or help do science on the Internet. Your computer's spare CPU cycles can used to help with various large projects or you can use the vast resources on the Internet to do some original investigation on Earth science, biology and space science. Some examples will be given.

Part two will show you some science projects that can be done using your computer and some inexpensive equipment. One of the best peripherals is the web cam and some demonstrations will be shown.

An Experiment to Measure the Earth’s Velocity Using a Velador (Velocity Absolute Detection by Optical Radiation)

Lance Osadchey M.D.


To have a theory and an instrument that would allow the comparison of the absolute velocity of objects would be a useful tool for many branches of science.  I believe I have correlated the distance a CCD moves in a fixed amount of time compared to a beam of laser light.

The author uses a fixed bar with a Charged Coupled Device (CCD) attached to one end and a laser attached to the other end, then measures the difference between the impact sites on the CCD at various angles as the bar is rotated. From the differences of impact sites, by the laser light, on the CCD the motion of the CCD can be calculated knowing the time the light ray took to reach the CCD.

I believe the experiment confirms the hypothesis that absolute motion can be measured. Now careful peer review and repetition of the technique need to be completed to confirm or reject the results.

Various other uses of the apparatus can be presented. Some of which are velocity changes during a lunar eclipse, the measurement of the change in velocity as the sun passes by a fixed point, measurement of the suns effect on the earth’s velocity and the measurement of a component of the galactic velocity.
 

 So You Think You Know About Tornadoes...

George Hrabovsky, President, Madison Area Science and Technology (MAST)

A veteran storm chaser with more than twenty years experience (and another ten before that as a spotter), Mr. Hrabovsky prowls the upper Midwest looking for tornadic storms to both better understand them, and to provide early warning to the public. In this talk Mr. Hrabovsky, recipient of a National Weather Service Public Service Award for training and organizing severe weather spotters and chasers, will describe the planning, preparation, execution, and pay-off of storm chasing. Be prepared to have your preconceived notions about tornadoes and severe weather challenged, to say the least..

A Multivariate Analysis of Human Promoter Sequences

Microlaunchers:  The Case for Very Small Spacecraft

by Charles Pooley

This presentation makes the case for developing a very small integrated spacecraft launch system as a way to break through the present high cost paradigm which restricts access to space exploration and a wide scale of participation.  The decendents of Apollo have failed for want of the compelling drive which resulted from competition with the former USSR in the race to the Moon.  None of the dozen or so private ventures since OTRAG in the 70's succeeded because of a tendency to start at too large a scale in quests for immediate profits.

The Microlaunchers system proposed here begins with escape velocity as the nominal baseline because the solar system lies beyond Earth's gravity and there are too few new applications and discoveries to be made in low earth orbit.

A partially reusable launch vehicle and the means to develop and test its segments together with a progression of sophiscticated spaceraft will be described. This can return new useful data, support development of new techniques, and open to a wider class of people direct participation in the exploration of the inner solar system.

Mims Family Science

By Forrest M. Mims III

The annual science fair was a tradition in the Mims family. Eric's optical fiber seismometer detected two underground nuclear tests in Nevada from our home in Texas and won numerous awards. His project even inspired a Canadian art exhibit. Vicki measured the rotation of the sun and studied water quality. Her project that used a Geiger counter to detect 12 solar x-class x-ray flares became a chapter in a book on sun observing by amateur scientists. Sarah's studies of Sahara dust and Central American smoke arriving in Texas twice earned her top recognition at the Texas Junior Academy of Science. Her discovery of living microbes in smoke became her first scientific paper and was featured in a book, a NASA web site, various magazine articles and an exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Children have great potential to become amateur scientists. Family science at the Mims place proves that children can do first class science and even make discoveries.

The Evolution of Our Nature Journals

by Aleta Karstad

Aleta, an accomplished nature artist, (see http://pinicola.ca/aleta.htm) has kept illustrated nature journals for 35 years, and is the author and illustrator of several books derived from her journals. Aleta and her biologist husband Fred Schueler run the Bishops Mills Natural History Centre near Ottawa, Canada, http://pinicola.ca/bmnhc.htm, where they dedicate themselves to natural history documentation, archiving natural history journals, and the design and development of theNatureJournal (see http://www.thenaturejournal.ca).

Aleta will show slides of her illustrated journals and the journals of her husband Fred Schueler, and discuss how their methods have changed through the years, to the present-day archival "Grinnell"-derived system of theNatureJournal. Aleta will also present the original "Macoun Club Study Area 2005" journal, generously lent by Rob Lee as an example of how theNatureJournal system is being used by a young naturalists club.

Amateur Contributions to Variable Star Astronomy

By Matthew Templeton, Ph.D.
AAVSO
 
Amateur astronomers have always made important contributions to this field of research, from the early days of variable star astronomy and comet- and minor-planet hunting to modern-day infrared and optical photometry and gamma-ray burst follow-ups. Many opportunities exist for astronomers of all levels to perform valuable scientific research, and the field of variable star astronomy is an especially rich one for amateur astronomers. From visual observing and long-term monitoring of thousands of variable stars to coordinated CCD and infrared photometry campaigns, amateurs are valuable colleagues in this field of research. Most importantly, amateur observers fill the widening gap in astronomy left by the closure of smaller telescope facilities by the professional community in favor of large-aperture telescopes. In my talk, I will review some of the important recent contributions amateur astronomers are making to the field of variable star research, and suggest simple (and not so simple) ways that you can participate. 

Home Science Projects and Homeland Security

By David Wheeler, Ph.D.

In reaction to Homeland Security regulations and drug problems, many states have introduced legislation that makes it difficult for amateur scientists. home inventors, and garage entrepreneurs to conduct scientific experiments. Part of my research study involves asking this subject group about their attitudes and behaviora! l response to the changing climate for home research.
Through an attitudinal survey and questionnaire that I have developed, a psychological model and understanding of home inventors, amateur scientists, and garage entrepreneurs is appearing.

Networks Theory: Applications to Scientific Investigations

By Reginald Smith

Any scientific problem that can be modeled as a set up discrete, interacting components can be modeled, in some aspect, as a network. This field has seen enormous growth as the network paradigm has been applied to study systems as diverse as the Internet, instant messaging, cell metabolism, and other complex systems.
 
However, network theory is not just an esoteric branch of science used by computer modelers. In my talk I will describe first what network theory is, then how an amateur can understand and use it in his or her own research or investigations.

KiteShip; Wind Power for Ships

By David Culp

Unlike other sources of alternate energy, sailing; the transfer of momentum from a moving mass of air to the momentum of a moving vessel, can be nearly 100% efficient, up to the Betz limit. Perhaps this is why humanity moved the great bulk of its goods under sail power for 7000 years, before abandoned sail for cheap oil 100 years ago.
Today's mass of ocean-transported goods vastly eclipses that of any past period, and perhaps eclipses the entire sum of all sail-transported goods, every year. 95% of humanity's trade goods travel by ship. Nearly 100 billion gallons of refined fuel were burned by the world's shipping fleet last year. The "era of cheap oil" may be ending. The cost of residual bunker fuel has increased worldwide by 350% in the past 5 years; diesel fuel by 450%. Additional increases are all but certain and the cost of fuel is now the greatest portion of a ship's operating costs.

Ship emission controls have not kept pace with land based controls. Newest bunker fuel "improved" standards allow 500 times the sulphur content of road diesel fuel. Ship engines are the largest engines in existence; a single large container ship travels approximately 75 feet for each gallon of fuel burned, and emits pollutants, including CO₂, NOX and SO₂ (the main ingredient of acid rain) equal to that of thousands of automobiles.

Is it perhaps time to reconsider sail power? We present a blueprint to use a combination of ship's engines and modern traction kites to reduce average fuel usage at sea by 15-30% while maintaining strict time schedules and ship speeds. Unique advantages of kites allow this to be done at much greater savings than traditional masted sails, and allows efficient conversion of existing ships to sail power.

Do-It-Yourself Diodes

By Ed Nisley

Crystal diodes date back to the earliest days of electricity and still have a certain mystique. Unlike “store bought” diodes, though, there’s no such thing as a standard crystal diode: each mineral sample can be wonderful or useless, sometimes both within the span of a millimeter. This paper describes the simple circuitry you need to explore the electrical behavior of mineral samples, then shows results ranging from negative resistance to RF demodulation in rusty bolts. Even if chalcopyrites don’t litter your back yard, you’ll find interesting diodes made from little more than steel, salt, and sheet metal!